Review: Star Wars Battlefront

October 15, 2006

I did it all for the Wookie
Pandemic / Playstation 2, Xbox, PC / Teen

Star Wars Battlefront is LucasArts’ latest game offering. Star Wars games have a shaky history. There are the really good (Knights of the Old Republic) and the really bad (Obi-Wan). Battlefront ranks as one of the good.

The hero of this game is a mere grunt on the battlefield. The character rushes enemy bases, turns to shoot enemies and truly puts gamers in the action from the movies. Main characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker even make appearances fighting alongside the other soldiers. In the end it’s usually up to the controlled soldier to turn the tide of battle by eliminating the enemy, and capturing command posts scattered throughout the different game environments. Gamers play both light and dark sides interchangeably throughout the story, which seems odd at times to be switching between good and evil. Over the course of the game, play alternates between huge open battlefields and close quarters urban combat. The maps are very easy to read and enemies are clearly distinct from allies. The graphics are very well done and render the familiar movie environments beautifully. Players will also find a wide variety of vehicles from X-wings that fly over the battlefield to Tontons who mysteriously glide over trenches.

At points it is evident that the game needed more polish. Death and vehicle animations are choppy especially when entering a vehicle. Also the elements of picking the soldier class add little depth or strategy to the gameplay. Character action is limited to running, jumping and shooting. The game also has a tendency to slow in pace without getting a tense feeling like in a real battle. Yet, these problems seem small when fighting in favorite battles and hopping into the amazing variety of vehicles.

Star Wars fans should definitely buy this game, and Battlefront is definitely worth at least a rental for anyone who enjoyed the movies.